Vote Climate Candidates pink variant , 1 of 100, by Amos Paul Kennedy Jr., 2024

HAVE YOU HEARD? THERE'S AN ELECTION COMING UP SOON IN THE USA.

Yes. Just 2 weeks until election day here in America. We think voting for climate candidates is perhaps the #1 thing regular folks like us can do to slow down global warming. And a dream project has come together last minute to help put one of our favorite voting non-profits over the hump. We've commissioned renowned, activist letterpress printer Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. to create a piece for us inspired by voting for climate candidates.

Amos Kennedy in his Detroit printshop, 2021. Photo by Garrett MacLean.

I'm a huge admirer of Amos's bold, colorful, and brave equality & justice activism. Not to mention the bold and brave colors on his prints. And his life itself is an inspiration. Amos quit working as an AT&T systems analyst in his 40s to become a printmaker. Using hand-set wood and metal type, Amos builds up layers of text on a Heidelberg letterpress to create artworks that he describes as "bad printing". The end result is a totally unique hybrid of political graphics and abstract expressionism.

Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. demonstrating printing techniques. Photo by **Virginia Humanities**.

For this new print for us, Amos has stacked a text layer cake consisting of the title of Rachel Carson's seminal book Silent Spring, the words "Save The Environment", the names of our past charity partners, quotes from Chief Seattle and Lao Tzu, and topped it all off with a Rachel Carson quote.

each layer of the print, photos by Amos Paul Kennedy Jr.

The finished poster has a deep three-dimensional quality. Like the wisdom we're reading is just a few of the untold words set down by humans. I can imagine the quote on top flying on by us and another quote emerging to the top from the word soup below. In person the colors which range from pinks to blues to greens to yellows to shimmering silvers are deeply rich. So fun and beautiful and important I can't even believe it!

Amos has personally hand-printed 100 of these for us. They are 19" x 12.5" on 21pt chipboard. And literally no two are the same. Each one is a unique, type-driven artwork. The quotes in some copies are clearly readable, in others they coalesce into a chocka-block modern design. We even have a few with patterns behind the simple quote. There's no telling exactly which one you'll receive! These pieces are truly artworks. Amos Kennedy’s prints are in numerous library, museum, and private collections, including the U.S. Library of Congress. And for a minimum donation of $100, you'll receive one as a gift. You can donate right now on the home page ➡️ FUNCTIONALMAGIC.ORG or in the form below. Domestic shipping is included. These will ship by late November.

WE THINK THE ENVIRONMENTAL VOTER PROJECT IS JUST THE SORT OF SMART, HANDS DIRTY, FRONT LINE NON-PROFIT THAT DESERVES SUPPORT

All proceeds and any donations above the minimum made for one of Amos's prints will go to The Environmental Voter Project. They're a non-partisan non-profit with a unique approach. Rather than convincing people to care about climate change, it identifies people who already do, but don't consistently vote, and works to get them to the polls. Long-term. Evidence based. This is the kind of work that can really move the needle. Click through and check them out. I know we're all deluged with donation requests this time of year, but this is one that can really amplify your dollars.

Vote! Art Drop

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